The Sardegna Film Commission short films - Third: distinguished Sardinian characters

Taking up where we left with the miniseries analyzing the Sardegna Film Commission animated short films after “history, archaeology and legends of Sardinia” and  “flora and fauna”, this chapter’s theme is “distinguished Sardinian characters”, represented by “Il volo di Aquilino”.

Theme: distinguished Sardinian characters

In this short film the meeting of an elderly writer, journalist and one of the most famous poets in Cagliari, Aquilino Cannas, with a pink flamingo is the occasion for a moving exchange in Sardinian, language that the genti arrubia is used to hear ever since they started living in Molentargius. The flamingos are called genti arrubia in the area of Cagliari due to the intense colors of their feathers, and they are one of the symbols of the Pond of Molentargius.

Produced by Karel, the short film will be directed by Davide Melis, written by Giacomo Pisano, illustrated by Vania Isabelli and animated by Matteo Fadda. Elio Turno Arthemalle and Antonella Puddu will voice Aquilino and the flamingo, while the soundtrack will consist of compositions by Francesco Medda (Arrogalla).

Well, I have to admit, this time finding information regarding the possible aesthetic of the short film has been quite difficult. In fact, the little information I could find about Vania Isabelli is related to a fashion designer that, according to her Facebook profile, is interested in one of the films directed by Davide Melis, “A Bolu”. I believe this is the person I was looking for, but so far I can’t confirm it or show examples of her illustration work. I can speculate and imagine this is her first illustration job of this kind for cinema.

On the other hand, examples of Matteo Fadda’s work are much easier to obtain. Matteo Fadda is an animator, editor and film director. He worked in 2015 on the animation and graphics of the documentary “Lunàdigas, ovvero delle Donne senza figli”, that explores the stories of women that due to different reasons and life paths didn’t have children. Stories that cover a century of Italian life, famous and ordinary women, far and close in time. We can see some of Matteo Fadda’s animations in the documentary’s trailer.

What’s more, in 2018 he wrote with Giacomo Litera and directed the soft-horror fantasy film “I misteri di Ichnos - La strega di Belvì” about an ancient curse and the last of seven daughters, a mysterious legend that will repeat in the present time. The film is aimed at a young audience but it had a good reception from adults as well. It is the first of a series of films that wants to use Sardinia’s legends to tell new stories. Here you can watch the trailer of the film.

For the same production house as “La strega di Belvì”, Ignazio Dessì’s JuFilm, Matteo Fadda wrote with Giacomo Littera and directed, animated and edited the short film “Piccoli Eroi” in 2015. The small protagonist dreams of the adventures of his favorite superhero while reading a comic. He realizes that in the real world you don’t need superpowers in order to change things.

Davide Melis directed numerous documentaries and movies, most of which were produced by Karel. The most relevant productions to the theme of the short film are: “Life - La vita del parco Molentargius” (2017), documentary about the flamingos in the Molentargius Park, you can see it for free on vimeo; “Sardegna, natura da vivere” (2016), naturalistic documentary; “L’insolito ignoto - Vita acrobatica di Tiberio Murgia” (2012), biography of the famous Tiberio Murgia; “A Bolu” (2019), documentary on the art of singing of Sardinian tenors. What’s more, in 2010 he directed a documentary about the radio telescope of our stellar project, “Sardinia Radio Telescope - The Big Lift”. Wow, what a coincidence, am I right?

Giacomo Pisano has a degree in medieval archaeology, he’s been working for twenty years on contemporary art, fashion and body art. He published two monographs, “Il nido del basilisco” and “L’apocalisse, ora”, dedicated to important religious buildings in Sardinia. He works for the communication service of the presidency of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and he is public speaker and social media content manager, that is he directs the production of content for social networks. In addition, he has been for 10 years the curator of the centres of Art and Culture of Cagliari and co-founder of the cultural association Terra Atra, which organized an event devoted to Aquilino Cannas in Cagliari’s town square in 2018.

The reading event “Aquilino Cannas, parole e immagini di un poeta urbano” narrated the life of the poet from his childhood in the Villanova district in Cagliari to his detention in Algeria, his cultural activity and his daily family life. Aquilino Cannas was born in 1914 and he interrupted his studies due to World War II. In 1943 his battalion was defeated in Tunisia by the English army and for this he was detained in Saida, Algeria, for three years. During this period he focused on studying, reading and poetry. After his return he worked as an economist for the Region until his retirement in 1972. He united his poetic and advertising activity with a great commitment in the cultural and environmental field. He took care of the requalification of hippodrome in Poetto, of the fights against uncontrolled building, of the resurgence of the festival of Saint Efisio and of many activities concerning the Sardinian language and the bilingualism in schools.

The representation was accompanied by Francesco Medda “Arrogalla”’s music, the same artist that will create the short film’s soundtrack. Here we can listen to an example of his musical work:

Francesco Medda “Arrogalla” is an electric music composer of Quartu Sant’Elena, co-founder of the Dub Versus project with Giacomo Casti. He studies soundscapes and electroacoustic music.

The voices of the short film are Elio Turno Arthemalle and Antonella Puddu, which have experience in the theatre world: the first works on the radio, in the theatre, and is the artistic director of the company Teatro Impossibile; the latter works in the theatre, in musical-theatrical collaboration and dubbed the books “Le avventure di Bakis” and “Su Sardu Gioghendu”.

Personally I believe that this short film has great potential when it comes to sound, and I’m very curious about the final result. 

The next short film will be “Faulas si credia”, representing the theme of “anthropology, tradition and art”, stay tuned!